Beech King Air 90

On July 23, 2016, about 1900 Pacific daylight time, a Beech 65- A90, N256TA, sustained substantial damage following a reported loss of control while climbing out near the Byron Airport (C83) Byron, California. The airplane was registered to N80896 LLC, and operated by Bay Area Skydiving under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The commercial pilot and the 14 passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the skydiving flight. The local flight departed C83 at about 1845.

On June 27, 2016, about 1400 mountain daylight time, a Beech E-90 King Air airplane, N92DV, was struck by a skydiver exiting the airplane near Longmont, Colorado. The commercial rated pilot and fourteen skydivers were not injured and one skydiver sustained serious injuries. The airplane sustained substantial damage.

Before the flight, the pilot did not obtain a weather briefing and departed without approval from company personnel. The airplane departed the airport about 0230 and climbed to 14,500 feet mean sea level. The pilot obtained visual flight rules (VFR) flight following services from air traffic control (ATC) personnel during the flight. While the airplane was en route, ATC personnel advised the pilot that an area of moderate precipitation was located about 15 miles ahead along the airplane’s flight path.

While landing, the airplane touched down short of the runway, the left main landing gear impacted the edge of the runway and collapsed, and the airplane departed the edge of the runway into a culvert. The airplane’s left wing sustained substantial damage.

The Beech King Air had undergone maintenance that included a landing gear disassembly and inspection in preparation for the airplane’s sale. Following the landing gear inspection, the left main landing gear strut was overfilled to an extension that exceeded maintenance specifications due to the strut not being able to maintain the manufacturer’s specified pressure/extension.

During a skydiving flight at approximately 14,000 feet, an instructor positioned himself at the door opening with his jump student nearby. The student inadvertently pulled the instructor’s reserve parachute D-ring, deploying the chute and pulling the instructor out of the airplane

The pilot was landing the twin-engine, turboprop airplane on a 3,000-foot-long, 70-foot-wide, asphalt runway, when he encountered a high sink rate. He applied engine power; however, the engines did not respond quickly enough to prevent a hard landing.

Following an uneventful flight, the pilot overflew the destination airport and observed no apparent wind speed or direction on the windsock. The airplane approached the runway fast, and landed “very hard,” separating the right main landing gear from the airplane in the process.

The pilot began descending when he thought all jumpers had departed the airplane, but 1 jumper remained. The remaining jumper realized the airplane was descending but was too late to stop his exit. After exiting the airplane he contacted the horizontal stabilizer and broke the femur of his left leg.

The airplane lost engine power during descent. The 1,127-hour pilot elected to perform emergency engine out procedures and prepared for an emergency landing. After impact, the pilot observed the right engine nacelle engulfed in flames, which then spread to the fuselage. Review of the engine logbook revealed the engine was being operated in excess of 1,000 hours of the manufacturer’s recommended time between overhauls of 3,600 hours.

The pilot and eight parachutists were returning from a skydive meet. The pilot had obtained a weather briefing, which advised of instrument meteorological conditions at the destination, and filed a VFR flight plan, but it was never activated. Witnesses heard, but could not see, a twin engine turboprop pass over the airport, heading north out over the Great Salt Lake. They described the weather conditions as being a low ceiling with 1/4-mile visibility,

After takeoff the pilot raised the landing gear and then had to take evasive action to the right to avoid a flock of birds. As he performed the evasive maneuver, he raised the flaps. The aircraft was slow, and he kept the nose down to build up speed for the climb. Just as he was to commence the climb, he caught a glimpse of a wire ahead. He pulled up rapidly, but contacted the wire with the right wing.

The pilot stated that he was at 12,500 feet, preparing for a four-mile parachute jump run, when he had initial indications of a power/fuel problem. He said he told the skydivers to exit, then initiated a descending spiral to land, during which time the fuel flow became erratic. He said both engines ceased operating at 3,000 feet, and he did not account for the northwest wind, and crashed short of the runway.

The airplane impacted the terrain approximately 2,065 feet south of the departure end of runway 22. Damage to the cockpit section of the wreckage indicated a nose down crush angle of approximately 80 degrees. The wreckage path was on a 208 degree heading, and the distance from the initial impact to the location of the empennage was about 142 feet. The cockpit and cabin were destroyed by post impact fire.

Following the 12th sport parachute jump of the day, which occurred after sunset, ground witnesses observed the airplane descend into the ocean in a left wing low, nose down attitude. They did not hear the engines sputtering or popping, or see the airplane make any erratic movements during its descent.

The pilot had made a refueling stop at Vandalia, Illinois. She did not observe the refueling process, but the FBO also operated a King Air and she felt he knew the proper procedure to follow. The airplane was reportedly serviced with 235 gallons of Jet-A fuel (total capacity is 384 gallons). The pilot flew between 7,500 and 10,500 feet.

The pilot was taking off with 10 jumpers onboard. At the rotation speed of 100 knots, he used elevator trim to rotate the airplane, but it did not lift off the runway. He continued moving the trim wheel violently to pitch the nose up, and attempted to pull back on the yoke, but the airplane collided with rising terrain off the end of the runway.

The aircraft was damaged when a sport parachutist collided with the horizontal stabilizer while exiting the aircraft at 13,000 feet msl. According to statements from the pilots and other jumpers on board the aircraft, the injured jumper’s reserve parachute deployed as he exited the door. The parachute momentarily draped over the left leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer,

As the jumpmaster and student jumper backed into the door of the airplane in preparation for a tandem jump, he had a uncommanded deployment of his reserve parachute, that dragged them out the door. The jumpers went under the left horizontal stabilizer while the canopy went over the top. After a few seconds, the parachute shroud lines cut through the horizontal stabilizer and deformed the left elevator Read the NTSB...